An Unexplored Realm in the Heartland of the Southern Gulf ... - Famsi

Chapter 7. El Marquesillo: Conclusions and Future Study
Results from the investigation of El Marquesillo have not yet necessitated a
rewriting of Olmec political history as contemplated by Diehl in the opening quotation of
this dissertation. They have, however, demonstrated the need for a broader, more
inclusive examination of regional settlement and socioeconomic evidence. More careful
consideration of the human inhabitants, their activities, and the cultural and physical
landscape in which they lived should be a greater priority. This attention should be
focused not only on their cultural similarities but on the deviations and variations in their
social and ideological practices. My research and observations at El Marquesillo, as well
as new data that are being produced by investigations in the Southern Gulf Lowlands,
have made me realize that well-established hypotheses, some that have even reached the
level of doctrine, regarding the Formative period and the Gulf Olmec need to be
reconsidered from new and different perspectives. These investigations support the
observation by Pool (2006:197) that “the political dominance of any particular Olmec
center was restricted.” Further, I agree with Clark (1997:230) when he states that
“[i]nteractions between the Olmec and their neighbors need to be assessed on a case by
case basis to determine the nature of the interaction, the level of complexity of each
polity, the contribution to the interaction by both parties, and the significance of the
interaction for each.”
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